Habakkuk 3:1–Zephaniah (ESV):

Habakkuk’s Prayer

3 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.

 2  O Lord, I have heard the report of you,

and your work, O Lord, do I fear.

  In the midst of the years revive it;

in the midst of the years make it known;

in wrath remember mercy.

 3  God came from Teman,

and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah

  His splendor covered the heavens,

and the earth was full of his praise.

 4  His brightness was like the light;

rays flashed from his hand;

and there he veiled his power.

 5  Before him went pestilence,

and plague followed at his heels.

 6  He stood and measured the earth;

he looked and shook the nations;

  then the eternal mountains were scattered;

the everlasting hills sank low.

His were the everlasting ways.

 7  I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction;

the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.

 8  Was your wrath against the rivers, O Lord?

Was your anger against the rivers,

or your indignation against the sea,

  when you rode on your horses,

on your chariot of salvation?

 9  You stripped the sheath from your bow,

calling for many arrows. Selah

You split the earth with rivers.

 10  The mountains saw you and writhed;

the raging waters swept on;

  the deep gave forth its voice;

it lifted its hands on high.

 11  The sun and moon stood still in their place

at the light of your arrows as they sped,

at the flash of your glittering spear.

 12  You marched through the earth in fury;

you threshed the nations in anger.

 13  You went out for the salvation of your people,

for the salvation of your anointed.

  You crushed the head of the house of the wicked,

laying him bare from thigh to neck. Selah

 14  You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors,

who came like a whirlwind to scatter me,

rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.

 15  You trampled the sea with your horses,

the surging of mighty waters.

 16  I hear, and my body trembles;

my lips quiver at the sound;

  rottenness enters into my bones;

my legs tremble beneath me.

  Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble

to come upon people who invade us.

Habakkuk Rejoices in the Lord

 17  Though the fig tree should not blossom,

nor fruit be on the vines,

  the produce of the olive fail

and the fields yield no food,

  the flock be cut off from the fold

and there be no herd in the stalls,

 18  yet I will rejoice in the Lord;

I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

 19  God, the Lord, is my strength;

he makes my feet like the deer’s;

he makes me tread on my high places.

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.

Abba,

When we come with humble hearts and a teachability, we can never walk away with anything other than this response; a response of praise, adulation, and worship!

There is nothing about you that is wrong, lacking, or that comes up short.  Nothing.

Our frustrations, resentments, and sense of wrongdoing rises only from our own self righteousness, naivety, lack of knowledge/understanding, our own hurt, grief, sorrow, loss, or even our own flawed desires.  No fault in you is ever the cause of our complaint nor is there any legitimacy in our complaint against you.  Rather the guilt lies upon our part.

Habakkuk’s cry was one of sincere indignation of the injustice and wickedness of the people and a cry for justice to be accomplished.  But his cry was given out of lack of understanding of your character and purpose.  The cry rose from a desire to see the wrongs and hurts recompensed and set right.  He wrongly assumed that your silence on the matter was an injustice all its own originating from the very top.

By the end of this dialogue, Habakkuk reaches the only natural response that he can when we, your creation, humbly engage in interaction with you.  Worship.  It is the only response that we can arrive at.  THE ONLY ONE.

Your person, your being, your character, your wisdom, your love, your justice, your holiness, your righteousness, your will, your purpose….they are forever just, true, good, gloriously and wonderfully beautiful!  When our understanding is enlightened, when we are granted insight and a view of the genius of your person, worship, awe, silence, even fear is the only natural response that we are capable of. 

Abba, your beauty is unparalleled.  Your majesty, uncontested. Your works, they are not able to outdone.

We may not always understand.  We may not always approve, but we cannot deny or argue, your way is always best and right and good. 

Right now, we may have to endure many hardships and injustices; many disappointments and sorrows; many wrongs, hurts, griefs and challenges.  But, you are never wrong.  Never that.  You are never unjust.  Never that.  You are never mistaken or in error. 

Your might and strength will always come to bear on the wickedness that has perverted, maimed, and deeply affected your perfect creation.  For a time, it is permitted.  But that permission is under your complete control and serves a vital purpose in your genius plan. 

And so, Abba, we rest in the comfort and truth that your might has not been undone.  We rest in your perfect justice, your infinite wisdom, your glorious character.  Even when we fail to understand or when we cry in pain and anger at our hurts, we choose to trust and we choose to worship. 

For you are good

And worthy of praise.

And praise we will.

Now and always.